


Be With Me

by TazWren



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Solo Deserved Better, Everything the way it SHOULD have happened, F/M, Fix-It, Force Bond (Star Wars), My EpIX, Oh hell no, Redeemed Ben Solo, Resurrection, Rey isn't letting go, Soulmates, Spoilers, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Spoilers, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21877774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TazWren/pseuds/TazWren
Summary: There be TROS Spoilers here... tread with care.Rey finds the belonging she seeks, in front of her.Or, how Rey isn't about to let Ben Solo sacrifice himself to save her, not after everything they've been through.
Relationships: Ben Solo - Relationship, Ben Solo/Rey, Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 83
Kudos: 516
Collections: TROS Reylo Fix-it Fics, The Thirst Order - TWD House Swolo





	Be With Me

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Пребудьте со мной](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21898714) by [Elafira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elafira/pseuds/Elafira)



> For Ben Solo.
> 
> For Reylos everywhere 💙

_Silence. Darkness. Nothingness._

Then…

A searing light and she was slammed with sensation from all sides. The throbbing pain in her limbs, the warm trickle of blood on her face, the frantic thudding of a heart that had been shocked awake by…

A large, warm, weight under her breast, a trembling huff of someone's breath. 

Slowly, Rey let her eyes open, let the dim light of the gloomy cavern filter into her, and looked up to see… him. Ben. _Her Ben_. 

_He'd come back to her, she hadn't lost him. He'd healed her, he'd brought her back from wherever she'd been banished to._

_Her Ben. Her other. Her other half._

She drank in the sight: the relief and something more in his eyes, the trembling of his lips, the way his body bowed over her, holding her to him. 

_The way she had always wanted to be held._

"Ben," she breathed, smiling as he helped her sit up, his hand cradling her head.

Unable to contain herself, she surged forward and, cupping his beloved face, pressed her lips to his.

A moment of startlement and he was kissing her back, holding her as close as he could in the position they were.

_Hope. Love. Want. Belonging. Everything she'd ever wanted._

_I love you, I love you!_

His feelings and hers. They swirled and entwined and surged and bled into each other as two halves finally came together. Balanced.

As they slowly parted, he huffed a little laugh - Rey could feel his disbelief that she had actually kissed him, that she _did_ want him, that she loved him. As though she hadn't already told him, _shown him,_ over and over. She would just have to keep doing it until he believed her.

Her smile widened, mirroring his, as the prospect of doing just that filled her with lightness.

Just as she was about to tell him that and quell his disbelief, Ben's eyes dimmed, his face slackened and his grip around the back of her neck loosened. Her smile slipped just as his massive form slid out of her arms, falling back on the cold, unforgiving ground, staring up with glassy, unseeing eyes.

_No, no!_

All the warmth that had suffused her not a scant second ago seeped out of her as cold dread took its place.

In a flash of chilling clarity Rey realized what had happened - Ben had fed her his life force, just as had fed him hers what felt like a lifetime ago on Kef Bir. Only, he'd gone too far; he hadn't stopped healing her until he had nothing left for himself.

She wanted to rage at him for being _that_ careless, for not caring enough about himself. However, she had no time for that. No time for anything but action. 

She would _not_ lose him - not like this, no. _NO_.

Moving swiftly, for all her ails had been healed by Ben's life force, she bent over him. Her hands trembled as she laid them over his unmoving chest, but she drew a deep breath and steadied herself. She could do this. _She could._

Closing her eyes, Rey reached out with every fibre of her being, reaching for the Force, letting it flood into her. This time, she found her focus, her center, in a heartbeat, as though it had always been waiting for her. 

_Be with me._

_Be with me._

_Be with me._

The litany filled her mind, swirled in her, and pounded with her heartbeat as she grasped every scrap of the energy she could feel in her veins and slowly, _oh so slowly,_ fed it through her hands. She had to take care to be gentle, slow, not rush in like Ben evidently had, no matter the urgency pulling at her. She breathed, willing her heart to slow, to calm down, as she shared herself with him. 

Rey had no idea how long she remained bent over him, feeding him her energy, her life force, a drip and a dribble at a time, so as not to choke him. So as not to drain herself like he had. 

Time lost all meaning. Nothing existed but the thump of the blood in her veins, the beating of the Force's drums inside herself to pace her through the long, cold wait. And the unmoving man under her.

She refused to feel despair. She refused to rage. She refused to be anything but a vessel for the light to flow into and out of. Over and over and over again.

_Be with me._

_Be with me._

_Be with me._

Just as she began to feel a dimming of her senses, a draining of vitality that left her extremities tingling, a light throbbed in the body under her hands. A faint pulsing that quickly spread through Ben's limbs, making her pull her energy back, even as she pressed closer to him.

Anxiously, she hovered over him, her eyes locked on his face, taking in the flush that slowly, oh so slowly, moved up his neck, and suffused his face. Finally, with a shuddering breath he opened his eyes.

_Rey..._

Hearing his voice in her head, she at last released the punishing hold she had on herself. Collapsing across Ben she sobbed, letting her terror, fear, and her anxiety spill out of her to soak into his torn tunic. Gently, she felt his arms band around her, comforting her for the barest moment before he was surging upright. Gripping her shoulders, Ben pulled her from him and raked his eyes over her, a throb of his fear shooting through their bond.

He was afraid of losing her the way she had almost lost him.

Not having the energy to speak, bone-deep weariness finally pulling at her, Rey leaned forward and laid her head against his shoulder.

_Ben,_ _I'm fine. I'm here._

His response was words she couldn't decipher, the star-burst of his joy obliterating all coherence.

Smiling, she burrowed closer, encircling him with her arms, holding him as close to her as she had yearned to, for what seemed like forever. Not as close as she hoped she would one day but, for now, in this moment, it was enough.

When Ben's emotions finally settled, he pressed a kiss to hair and sighed as he held her.

_I love you._

Her smile widened at his declaration, unheard by anyone but her.

_I know._

..

  
  


The ancient X-Wing descended through the canopy of leaves and settled with an ungainly lurch, as though the pilot had not been able to maintain control all the way through the landing sequence. As a quiet settled around it, a muffled thump sounded before the canopy _snicked_ back. The natural sounds of the forest moon of Endor began to fill the air as first one, and then another, person emerged, unfolding themselves from the cramped space. 

The man jumped down before reaching up to wrap his hands around the woman's waist to pluck her off the boarding ladder and lower her to the ground. Her quick laugh burst across the clearing, getting lost in the muffling foliage, before it cut off as a crashing noise came from the trees, south of them.

Turning as one, they pulled lightsabers from their belts and planted their feet, ready to face whatever threatened them. 

With a high-pitched beeping, a round droid burst through the plants and rolled to a halt in front of the couple, swivelling excitedly in place as its sensors scanned from one to the other.

"BeeBee Eight!" 

Holstering her saber, Rey dropped to her knees. Automatically, she reached out to tweak his antennae, grinning when he beeped his pleasure and rolled closer.

Then, as more noises neared them, she rose to her feet and stepped closer to Ben, taking his hand in hers.

Finn and Poe burst through the trees before skidding to a stop at the sight of the tall man standing close to Rey. Exchanging a quick glance they bent in twin crouches, hands reaching for their blasters.

"Ren!" Finn hissed, anger kindling in his face.

"No! Not Ren. This is Ben," she spoke sharply, stepping in front of him and throwing a hand out, ready to stop anything if they decided to shoot.

"Ben?" Poe asked warily, as he slowly straightened, glancing first at Finn and then at Rey.

Raising her chin, she fixed him with a steady look. "Yes, Ben. This is Leia and Han's son." 

She drew Ben forward until he stood shoulder to shoulder with her.

"Without him, there would have been no victory. He killed Snoke so I could kill Palpatine." She looked up at him, smiling softly when he met her eyes. Trepidation and hesitation trilled through their bond, stilling only when she laid her free hand on his arm.

"He sacrificed himself to save me. And I brought him back." She squeezed his hand, which was still linked with hers, and a small smile lifted the corners of Ben's mouth. A rare sight that she would never get tired of.

She could sense her friends exchanging doubtful looks, and turned to face them. 

Before they could move another muscle, a strident voice called out from behind them, making them freeze.

"Ben Solo! About time you came home!"

Maz strode past the Resistance Generals and stopped to look knowingly up at Ben, her hands on her hips as he flushed and dipped his head. Turning, Maz spoke over her shoulder, "Leia knew what she was doing. Her passing was not in vain."

Rey looked the two other men in the eyes and held her breath as she waited for their doubt to drain away. When it finally did, she sighed in relief.

Poe was the first to holster his blaster and look his former enemy up and down. "So, Ben, what is it you're going to do, now that you're here?"

Ben held Poe's scrutiny calmly, and then turned to smile down at Rey before answering the question.

_"We_ are going to build a New Order."

  
  


..

  
  


The wind whipped sand into the air and past the old woman and her eopie, making her shield her face until it blew past her.

She turned to look again at the old, abandoned Lars homestead, squinting at the sight of the tall stranger standing at the edge of the dune. 

"Who are you?" She asked, lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the twin suns.

Just then, another figure scrambled over the lip of the sand-covered entrance to the Lars home, taking the man's hand as he helped her up and steadied her.

In unison, they turned to the old woman and the man spoke, a soft smile on his face as he held his hand out. 

"I'm Ben, Ben Skywalker Solo. And this is my wife, Rey."

...

**Author's Note:**

> My heart broke at the disservice done to Ben Solo, among everything and everyone else who was done dirty. This is my attempt to change that, in some Universe, somewhere, if not in a galaxy far, far away. 
> 
> Dee, thank you for being with me every step of the way. 💙


End file.
